Process for cooling and transverse conveyance of metal sheets



Dec. 17, 1958 oos ET AL 3,436,646

PROCESS FOR COOLING AND TRANSVERSE CONVEYANCE OF METAL SHEETS Filed Aug. 50, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet l Fig. 7

Dec. 17, 1968 I H800 ETAL 3,416,646

PROCESS FOR COOLING AND TRANSVE'RSE CONVEYANCE OF METAL SHEETS Filed Aug. 30, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig. 3

United States Patent 3,416,646 PROCESS FOR COOLING AND TRANSVERSE CONVEYANCE 0F METAL SHEETS Hermann Boos, Nordstrasse 30, Buderich, near Dusseldorf, Germany; Wolfgang Post, Martinstrasse 93, and Hans Malinowski, Jordanstrasse 9, both of Dusseldorf, Germany Filed Aug. 30, 1966, Ser. No. 576,132

Claims priority, application Austria, Sept. 3, 1965, A 8,108/65; Feb. 8, 1966, A 1,139/66 Claims. (Cl. 198219) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A method of and means for cooling and transversely conveying metal sheets or plates with stationary supporting gratings and with gratings that are movable in vertical and horizontal directions, wherein lifting and horizontal transporting movements of the movable transporting gratings are followed by return movements of the same extent, and wherein the horizontal return movement of the movable suppotring gratings is followed by a partial stroke, which stops the rise of the movable supporting gratings when their upper edges are flush with the upper edges of the stationary supporting gratings.

The cooling of metal sheets or plates (hereinafter referred to as sheets) on cooling beds should be effected as uniformly as possible over the entire area of the sheet. Injuries to the sheet surfaces by the transverse conveyance must here be avoided.

Upon the known disc-roller cooling beds, the sheets cool down uniformly. With these, however, there is the disadvantage that the narrow disc rollers leave traces on materials that have a sensitive surface, and that thin sheets deflect between the spatially separated bearing points. These disadvantages are obviated in a further known cooling bed, in which the sheet, is lifted and transported from a fixed supporting grating by a movable supporting grating. In this case the lifting and transporting take place in succession. Any slipping of the sheets relatively to either the stationary grate or the movable grate, such as occurs with the simultaneous lifting and displacement known from another suggestion, is in this way precluded. With this known cooling bed, a uniform cooling of the sheets is however impaired by the fact that the sheet rests upon the movable grating only during the brief transportation time, but rests upon the stationary grating during the remainder of the rather lengthy resting time. As a result of this, stresses and differences of quality may occur in the various areas of the sheets.

With the present invention, in cooling beds with stationary and movable supporting gratings, a more uniform cooling is aimed at. This aim is achieved, according to the invention, by the feature that the return movement of the movable supporting grating includes a partial stroke which brings the movable supporting grating to a standstill with its upper edge flush with the upper edge of the stationary supporting grating. The result is hereby obtained that all areas of a sheet" to be cooled are either resting upon a grating or are lifted away from it over equal intervals of time. As compared with the movements of known cooling beds there is the additional advantage that the movable grating does not strike with a definite speed against the under side of the sheet during the lifting, which would be disadvantageous both for the sheet and for the conveying apparatus. By the adjusting of the movable supporting gratings to the same level as the stationary gratings, the sheets already rest instead, at the commencement 3,416,646 Patented Dec. 17, 1968 of the lifting movement, upon the movable supporting gratings, so that impacts are precluded.

Apparatus for carrying out the method described is constructed, according to a further feature of the invention, by supporting a grating, which is movable to 'and fro by a control member upon a bearing rack or longitudinal support which is displaceable upon slideways or roller tracks inclined to the horizontal, by means of a further control member, and which can be stopped either in its end positions or in an intermediate position.

By employing inclined tracks for the supporting a reliable means for vertical adjustment is obtained, with but little wear, and, above all, with accurate working.

If the use of the cooling bed alternates frequently between thick and thin sheets, which require different transport rhythm, it is advantageous to convey the sheets over the cooling bed at different speeds, since in this way a transportation appropriate to the particular thickness of the sheet and breadth of the pile or stack of sheets with the densest coverage.

According to a further feature of the invention the movable supporting grating and the bearing surface are subdivided into equal sections in the longitudinal direction, the sections of the supporting grating being pivotally connected with one another, and a controlling member of its own being allocated to each section of the bearing member. It thereby becomes possible to cause individual sections of the movable supporting grating to execute conveying or delivering operations, whilst other sections execute only the reversing horizontal movements in a lowered position, and the sheets located in their area remain lying upon the stationary supporting gratings.

In a further development of the invention, the control members provided are motor-driven cranks, the shafts of which are provided with braking means and are connected with a rotating limit switch, and the connectingrods of which are connected with the bearing member or the movable supporting gratings.

As control members there may alternatively be provided pressure-fluid cylinders, in which case those connected with the bearing member are constructed as double-acting cylinders with an intermediate position. In this way the course of movement is controlled automatically.

Two embodiments of the invention are illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 shows a section through a cooling bed parallel to the direction of conveyance, without the stationary supporting grating;

FIGURE 2 shows a transverse section through the stationary and movable supporting gratings; and

FIGURE 3 shows a section through a two-part movable supporting grating.

Beside a roller bed 1 are arranged, upon girders 3 and 3 connected with the foundation by way of vertical struts 2, stationary supporting gratings 4 spaced apart. Between the stationary supporting gratings 4 movable supporting gratings 5 are arranged upon movable transverse girders 6, which are supported upon longitudinal girders 7. The longitudinal girders 7 are supported, with the interposition of balls 9 accommodated in upper and lower guides 8 and 8, upon the upper side of bearing members 10.

On the under side of the bearing members 10 are provided further guides 11, inclined to the horizontal, for balls 12 and 12', the likewise inclined co-acting guides 13 of which are arranged upon a base-plate 14 connected with the foundation. The ball bearings described from a technical lubricating point of view, require no maintenance.

The longitudinal girders 7 connected with the supporting gratings 5 are connected at one end, by way of an intermediate member .15, with a rocking lever 16 fulcrumed upon the foundation, the connecting-rod 17 of a crank 18 being pivoted to about the middle of the rocking lever 16, a rotating limit switch 27 with two contact points being connected with the shaft '19 of the crank .18. This limit switch 27, at the end positions of the horizontal path of travel, switches ofi" the motor 28, and switches on a brake 29.

Upon the opposite side of the cooling bed the bearing members 10 are connected with a rod 20, the other end of which is pivoted to a transmission lever 21 fulcrumed on the foundation. To about the middle of this lever is attached the connecting-rod 22 of a crank 24 mounted upon a motor-driven shaft 23. A rotating limit switch 30 connected with the shaft 23, with three contact points, controls the alternate switching on and off of a motor 31 and a brake 32 for the vertical lifting movements. The control described may be replaced by a digital regulating of position.

The sheets brought in lengthwise upon the roller bed 1 are delivered to the cooling bed by a delivering means (not shown) to be cooled upon the supporting gratings 4 and 5. For the stepwise transverse transporting of the sheets over the cooling bed, first of all the crank 24 controlling the motion of the bearing members 10 is rotated into the position in which the bearing members 10 extend farthest to the right, and the movable supporting gratings 5 are located in their highest position. In this position, in which the sheets are lying upon the raised movable supporting gratings 5, the limit switch 30 stops the motor 31 and switches on the brake 32, which brings the bearing members 10 to a standstill. On the other side the motor 28 now rotates the crank 18 connected with the girders 7 carrying the movable supporting gratings 5, whereby the sheets are transported in a horizontal direction. This movement is terminated in the opposite position of the crank v18 by the limit switch 27, or can be terminated in an intermediate position, by means of a pushbutton control by hand, by switching off the motor 28 and actuating the brake 29.

By means of the crank 24 the bearing members 10 are then displaced into the opposite position, whereby the movable supporting gratings 5 supported upon them are lowered to a position below the upper edge of the stationary gratings. Thereupon the crank 18 moves the movable supporting gratings 5 back into their original position.

In order that the sheets may rest, in the idle position between the transport strokes, upon both the stationary and the movable gratings, the crank 24 is thereupon rotated into an intermediate position determined by limit switches, so that the movable supporting gratings 5 lie in the same plane as the stationary supporting gratings 4. The renewed lifting of the sheets is then efiected from this position, in which case no impacts can occur. The

bearing conditions are the same for all areas of the sheets,

so that uniform cooling is ensured.

The switching on of the motors 28 and 31 and the releasing of the brakes 29 and 32 can be controlled separately by hand for any partial movement. It is however also possible to provide a follow-up control, in such a way that with the controlling impulse given by the rotating limit switch for switching off and braking the apparatus for a partial movement, a further impulse for starting the motor and releasing the brake for the succeeding partial movement is given. 'In this case, after once switching on, a transport movement proceeds automatically as far as the position of rest.

After their travel over the cooling bed, the sheets can be carried away for the subsequent straightening or adjusting treatment. In the case of the cooling bed illustrated in FIGURE 3, the longitudinal girders 7 are each subdivided into two sections 7a and 7b which are connected with one another by joints 25. Between the stationary supporting gratings 4 the movable supporting gratings 5 are arranged upon the movable transverse girders 6, which are supported upon the longitudinal girders 7a and 7b. The longitudinal girders 7a and 7b are supported, with the interposition of the balls 9 accommodated between the upper end and lower guides 8 and 8', upon the upper flanges of bearing members 10a and 10b, divided correspondingly to the longitudinal girders. On the underside of the bearing members 10a and 10b are provided the further guides 11, inclined to the hori zontal, for the balls 12, rolling upon the similarly inclined co-openating guides 13, which are arranged upon the baseplate 14 connected with the foundation.

The longitudinal girder sections 7a are laterally connected, by way of a transmission rod 27, with a controlling element, not shown. On the same side the bearing members 10a are connected by way of a further transmission rod 26, with another controlling element (not shown).

The bearing members 10b are connected, on the outer side, with an intermediate member 20, the other end of which is pivoted to a transmission lever 21 fulcrumed on the foundation, this lever in its turn being connected by way of a rod 22 to a controlling element (not shown).

The sheets brought in lengthwise upon the roller bed 1, are delivered to the cooling bed by a delivery device (not shown), to be cooled upon the supporting gratings 4 and 5. For the stepwise transverse transporting of the sheets over the cooling bed, the bearing members 1011 and 10b are at first pushed upwards together by their controlling elements upon the inclined co-operating guides 13, whereby the movable supporting gratings 5 come into their highest position, and lift the sheets oh? the stationary supporting gratings 4. Then the girders 7a and 7b are moved in the transporting direction by their control element. The depositing of the sheets upon the stationary supporting gratings 4 is effected by a downward movement of the bearing members 10a and 10b upon the inclined co-operating guides 13, whereupon the girders 7a and 7b with the movable supporting gratings 5 are returned empty into the initial position. In order to provide the same cooling conditions over the entire sheet surface, the bearing members 10a and 10b are thereupon pushed upwards again upon the co-operating guides 13 until the movable supporting gratings 5 lie in the same plane as the stationary supporting gratings 4.

, To enable sheets of different thicknesses to be conveyed independently of one another, at times onl one bearing-member section 10a or 10b is moved by its controlling element upon its inclined co-acting guide 13,'and in this way the associated bearing-member section 7a or 7b is lifted, with its supporting gratings 5. Thus these carry away the sheets located within their reach, whilst the supporting gratings 5, resting upon the lowered girder sections 7a or 7b, idly execute the horizontal movements underneath the bearing plane of the stationary gratings 4.

We claim:

1. A method of transversely conveying metal sheets over a cooling bed consisting of stationary and movable supporting gratings, comprising the steps of lifting the sheets off the stationary grating by raising the movable grating, advancing the sheets by moving the movable grating horizontally forward, lowering the movable grating until the sheets rest only upon the stationary grating, retracting the movable grating, and then raising the movable gratin-g only to such a height that the upper edges of the movable grating are flush with those of the stationary grating.

2. Apparatus for cooling and transversely conveying metal sheets, comprising: a foundation; inclined roller beds supported by the foundation; longitudinally displaceable bearing members resting upon the inclined roller beds; means for longitudinally reciprocating the bearing members along the inclined roller beds and thereby raising and lowering them; longitudinal girders carried by the bearing members; means for longitudinally reciprocating the longitudinal girders independently of the movement of the bearing members; movable supporting gratings carried by the longitudinal girders; stationary supporting gratings supported by the foundation, the movable and stationary supporting gratings together constituting a cooling bed, and means for discontinuing the longitudinal movemet of the bearing members not only at the ends of their travel but also at an intermediate point, at Which the upper edges of the movable supporting gratings will be flush with those of the stationary supporting gratings.

3. Apparatus for cooling and transversely conveying metal sheets as claimed in claim 2, the movable supporting gratings and the bearing members each being subdivided into equal sections in the longitudinal direction, the sections of each supporting grating being pivotally connected with one another, and the apparatus further comprising separate inclined roller beds and separate reciprocating means for the separate sections of the bearing members.

4. Apparatus for cooling and transversely conveying metal sheets as claimed in claim 2, the means for reciprocating the bearing members and the longitudinal girders comprising crank-shafts, cranks on the chank-shafts, motor means for driving the crank-shafts, means for braking the crank-shafts, connecting-rods connecting the bearing members and the longitudinal girders With their associated cranks, and rotating limit switches controlling the actuation of the motor means and of the brakes.

5. Apparatus for cooling and transversely conveying metal sheets as claimed in claim 2, the means for reciprocating the bearing members and the longitudinal girders comprising pressure-fluid, cylinders, those for reciprocating the bearing members being double differential cylinders, with an intermediate position.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,921,956 8/1933 Vickers 198219 FOREIGN PATENTS 679,920 9/1952 Great Britain.

RICHARD E. AEGERTER, Primary Examiner. 

